Sunday, July 14, 2013

Like me you may have grown up listening to stories
read from storybooks by your parents. Before books there were storytellers.
Many cultures had storytellers; amongst them the Maori. Stories, or myths and
legends, played an important role in passing on knowledge from one generation
to the next. They were also a form of entertainment which has survived through
the ages and across cultures.

Libro International has published
a new edition of Favourite Maori Legends, a much-loved edition of legends
published in 1965 by that great collector of stories and language, A.W. Reed.
Favourite Maori Legends has a RRP of $29.99 which represents exceptional value
for a classic collection of over 30 of the most memorable Maori legends.

Favourite Maori Legends has been
updated in this new edition of A.W Reed’s 1965 classic. It is almost 50 years
on since the original edition and Ross Calman has revised the legends for the
more discerning modern reader. Ross is a highly respected author and editor and
is justifiably proud of this new edition of a New Zealand classic, “I worked
hard to preserve the flow of the original narratives, while modernising the
stories and reinstating some of the Maori language from the original sources.”

Favourite Maori Legends is a soft
cover. I’ve never made my mind up as to my preference – hard cover versus soft
cover. But this is a beautiful edition, a book that should grace every bookcase
in New Zealand. It would also make a great gift for those countless thousands
of kiwis who now live overseas. The illustrations by Roger Hart are stunning,
simple black and white drawings that evoke the times the legends date from. But
it is the stories themselves that will draw you into this book. Some of them
will be familiar; some may be new to you. But they all take me back to nights
spent in the lounge listening to my parents as they read from the well-worn
pages of my favourite storybooks. Reading these legends I can well imagine
family gatherings huddled around a fire as a storyteller retold the legends of
their people.

The stories are grouped together
in 5 sections – legends of the spirit world, ghosts, taniwha, supernatural
creatures, and heroes and deeds of daring. A feature of the book is the
glossary, not an extensive course in te reo but an explanation of many of the
words that feature in the legends. Not that you will require a knowledge of te
reo to enjoy the stories, the stories paint such vivid pictures that you will
be carried along with them.

Ross Calman

I enjoyed the foreword from the
original 1965 edition. A.W. Reed concludes his foreword with the following
paragraph.

The legends were famous in their
day. Over the years they have to a large extent been forgotten, but they should
not be lost to the present and future people of Aotearoa. As we become more
conscious of the contribution that Maori culture should make to our common
heritage, we believe that they will again become favourite legends.

Surely as relevant today as it
was when it was written nearly 50 years ago.

Favourite Maori Legends by A.W.
Reed is revised by Ross Calman in this edition published by Libro
International. Favourite Maori Legends has a RRP of $29.99 and is available in
all good bookstores now.

Gordon Crombie for the book show
on Radio Southland 96.4FM leaving you with these words from Ross Calman.

Beyond entertainment,
storytelling was an important means of transmitting history, whakapapa and
other knowledge. Early missionaries were staggered at the ability of Maori to
memorise and retain information, which was due to this oral tradition.

I hope you can accompany me in
enjoying the stories within this volume and the window they give on to the
traditional Maori world.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Tim Tipene has been inducted into
the New Zealand Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Tim is the founder of the renowned
Warrior Kids programme and Master Arts classes, and is an award-winning author.

Tim, 41, became a student of martial
arts at the age of 12. In 1994 he set up his own school, now called Master
Arts, and began a holistic life-skills programme based on the arts for children
called Warrior Kids. Tim has gone on to provide Warrior Kids to communities and
schools for 18 years, changing the lives of thousands of children and their
families.

Tim feels honoured to be
acknowledged by the martial arts community for what he regards as his art of
peace. Master Arts is a form of non-violent self protection and intervention,
focusing on de-escalation and the containment of aggressive behaviour. ‘Master
Arts is winning against an opponent without drawing the sword. In other words
winning without the use of violence and winning without causing defeat,’ says
Tim.

Warrior Kids is a Master Arts
programme for children aged between 5 and 13 and follows the same message. 'If
you teach a child to hit then they will hit. If you hit you get into trouble at
school, you get into trouble with the law, people get hurt and you get negative
consequences. That is a fact,’ comments Tim.

Warrior Kids gives children
alternatives to violence, and builds up their awareness and confidence. 'The
children are certainly taught self protection, but they are not taught strikes
or throws, or to use pain or power over tactics.'

Tim is not sure if what he does
could easily be classed as martial arts any more. 'I called it Master Arts
because it is really about mastering the self,’ he comments. ‘Master Arts is
the ultimate in anger management because through the training you remould the
anger and the responses to anger physically and mentally. Students are taught
safe and constructive ways to address problems. Master Arts is about safe homes
and safe communities.'

The New Zealand Martial Arts Hall of
Fame, (NZMAHOF), was established in 1995 with the aim of providing leadership
in martial arts at the very highest level. The NZMAHOF Awards are held every
two years to honor those Martial Artists who have contributed, served and
cultivated martial arts in New Zealand in an outstanding manner. Tim will
attend a ceremony in November where he will receive his award.

Tim is also the award-winning author
of a number of books for children and young adults, including a manual about
his Warrior Kids programme.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Farewell today to Ray Richards, with the funeral at Devonport naval base for the legendary publisher, literary agent and World War II fighter pilot. Family, friends and colleagues remembered a man who gave much to publishing, writers and his many friends through an extraordinary life.

Ray was a generous mentor and astute agent right to the end; we worked with him to publish the new Ross Calman edition of A.W. Reed's Favourite Māori Legends only last week - this was a title Ray had published first back in 1965!

For more about Ray's contribution to NZ publishing, refer to Gavin McLean's history of Reed Publishing, Whare Raupo (Reed, 2007), and click through to Graeme Beattie's blog.